This series celebrates Mohamad Malas, a Syrian filmmaker whose work has garnered international recognition. Born in 1945 in Quneitra in the Golan Heights, Malas is among the first auteur filmmakers in Syrian cinema. Before taking up filmmaking, he worked as a school teacher between 1965 and 1968. He then moved to Moscow to study filmmaking at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK). During his time at VGIK, he directed several short films. After his return to Syria, Malas started working for Syrian Television. There he produced several short films, including Quneitra 74 and al-Zhakira (The Memory). Along with Omar Amiralay, he co-founded the Damascus Cinema Club. Between 1980 and 1981, Malas shot the documentary, al-Manam (The Dream), about Palestinians living in refugee camps in Lebanon, during the civil war.
This series includes two of his most compelling short documentaries as well as a new documentary about the filmmaker by scholar and director, Nezar Andary.
Quneitra 74, 1974
Mohamad Malas (Syria)
The Dream, 1987
Mohamad Malas (Syria)
Unlocking Doors of Cinema, 2019
Nezar Andary (UAE, Lebanon, Syria)
Shot in 1980-81, The Dream is composed of interviews with Palestinian refugees––children, women, old people, and militants––from the Sabra, Shatila, Bourj el-Barajneh, Ain al-Hilweh, and Rashidieh camps in Lebanon. In these interviews, filmmaker Mohamad Malas questions the subjects about their dreams at night. During filming. Malas lived in the camps and conducted interviews with more than 400 people. Their dreams always converge on Palestine: a woman recounts her dreams about winning the war; a feda'i resistance fighter dreams of bombardment and martyrdom; and an old man describes a dream about meeting Gulf emirs who ignore him. In 1982, the Sabra and Shatila massacres occurred, taking the lives of several people he interviewed, which halted the project. In 1986, Malas resumed the project, and he edited many hours of footage into this 45 minute documentary film, originally released in 1987.
- Year1987
- Runtime45 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountrySyria
- DirectorMohamad Malas
- CinematographerHazem Bayaa, Hanna Ward
- EditorKais al-Zubaidi
This series celebrates Mohamad Malas, a Syrian filmmaker whose work has garnered international recognition. Born in 1945 in Quneitra in the Golan Heights, Malas is among the first auteur filmmakers in Syrian cinema. Before taking up filmmaking, he worked as a school teacher between 1965 and 1968. He then moved to Moscow to study filmmaking at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK). During his time at VGIK, he directed several short films. After his return to Syria, Malas started working for Syrian Television. There he produced several short films, including Quneitra 74 and al-Zhakira (The Memory). Along with Omar Amiralay, he co-founded the Damascus Cinema Club. Between 1980 and 1981, Malas shot the documentary, al-Manam (The Dream), about Palestinians living in refugee camps in Lebanon, during the civil war.
This series includes two of his most compelling short documentaries as well as a new documentary about the filmmaker by scholar and director, Nezar Andary.
Quneitra 74, 1974
Mohamad Malas (Syria)
The Dream, 1987
Mohamad Malas (Syria)
Unlocking Doors of Cinema, 2019
Nezar Andary (UAE, Lebanon, Syria)
Shot in 1980-81, The Dream is composed of interviews with Palestinian refugees––children, women, old people, and militants––from the Sabra, Shatila, Bourj el-Barajneh, Ain al-Hilweh, and Rashidieh camps in Lebanon. In these interviews, filmmaker Mohamad Malas questions the subjects about their dreams at night. During filming. Malas lived in the camps and conducted interviews with more than 400 people. Their dreams always converge on Palestine: a woman recounts her dreams about winning the war; a feda'i resistance fighter dreams of bombardment and martyrdom; and an old man describes a dream about meeting Gulf emirs who ignore him. In 1982, the Sabra and Shatila massacres occurred, taking the lives of several people he interviewed, which halted the project. In 1986, Malas resumed the project, and he edited many hours of footage into this 45 minute documentary film, originally released in 1987.
- Year1987
- Runtime45 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountrySyria
- DirectorMohamad Malas
- CinematographerHazem Bayaa, Hanna Ward
- EditorKais al-Zubaidi